Bill Kelliher on Brent Hinds’ Exit from Mastodon: “It Was a Hard Decision We All Had to Make”
We’re all still reeling a bit from the news earlier this week that Mastodon is moving on without Brent Hinds. It’s such a wild situation, given his importance to their sound and his place as a founding member of the band. And while they have a (possibly temporary) fill in with YouTuber Ben Eller, who was super stoked at the chance to play a concert with them, there still remains the question: “Why?”
During a recent interview with Guitar World, Mastodon guitarist Bill Kelliher didn’t explain the whole “why” thing, he looked back on the quarter century of the band’s time with Hinds. But ultimately, he said it was time for the change to happen.
“What can you say about the legacy of Mastodon’s first 25 years with Brent? It’s been a fun, wild fucking ride, that’s for sure. We achieved a lot of things that I never in a million years would have imagined. There’s been Grammys, touring with our heroes, like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Motorhead, and Tool. I cherish all of that. Like a marriage, sometimes people grow apart, and they get interested in other things. We wish nothing but the best for Brent in chasing his dreams.
“You know, it’s amazing that we made it 25 years with the four of us. I mean, it’s like being married to three other dudes, traveling the world, trying to stay the course, and having everybody agree. That we managed to do it this long, I feel like that’s a feat in itself. You could never replace any of us because we [are the] the sum of four parts.
“That doesn’t mean there’s not someone else out there that has stuff to offer in a new direction. I think I’ll just leave it there, you know? It was a hard decision we all had to make. It’s just… it was just time.”
So yeah, it sounds like this was a long time coming and that unfortunately the band’s going to have to move on. No word if Eller’s their guy or not, but we’ll find out more as time goes on.
In the meantime, the band have touring coming up with Coheed and Cambria and Periphery that you might want to check out. You can check out the full list of dates below.
Mastodon 2025 tour dates
3/7/-3/10 – Punta Cana, DR @ Tool Live In The Sand
5/8-5/11 – Columbus, OH @ Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival
5/10 – Salem, VA @ Salem Civic Center*
5/11 – Knoxville, TN @ Knoxville Civic Coliseum*
5/13 – Raleigh, NC @ Red Hat Amphitheater*
5/15 – Wilmington, NC @ Live Oak Bank Pavilion at Riverfront Park*
5/16 – Charleston, SC @ Firefly Distillery*
5/15-5/18 – Daytona Beach, FL @ Welcome to Rockville
5/19 – Estero, FL @ Hertz Arena*
5/21 – Huntsville, AL @ Orion Amphitheater*
5/22 – Lexington, KY @Rupp Arena*
5/24 @ Virginia Beach, VA @ The Dome*
5/25 – Bridgeport, CT @ Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater*
5/26 – Saratoga Springs, NY @ Broadview Stage at SPAC*
5/28 – Portland, ME @ Cross Insurance Arena*
5/30 – Syracuse, NY @ Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview*
5/31 – Scranton, PA @ The Pavilion at Montage Mountain*
6/1 – Youngstown, OH @ Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre*
6/3 – Fort Wayne, IN @ Allen County War Memorial Coliseum*
6/4 – Peoria, IL @ Peoria Civic Center Arena*
6/6 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena*
6/7 – Green Bay, WI @ Resch Center*
6/8 – Waukee, IA @ Vibrant Music Hall*
7/3 – Cardiff, UK @ Blackweir Fields
7/3-7/13 – Quebec City, QC – Festival Dete De Quebec
7/5 – Birmingham, UK @ Villa Park %$
7/6 – London, UK @ Finsbury Park %
7/30-8/3 – Rasnov, Romania @ Rockstadt Extreme Fest
7/31 – Szekesfhervar, Hungary @ Fezen Festival
8/7-8/10 – Walton-On-Trent @ Bloodstock Open Air
8/8-8/10 – Kortrijk, Belgium @ Alcatraz Festival
8/15-8/17 – Vallamand, Switzerland @ Rock The Lakes
8/15-8/17 – Eindhoven, Netherlands @ Dynamo Metal Fest
*w/ Coheed and Cambria
% w/ Slayer
$ w/ Ozzy Osbourne
